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Vanilla Beans vs. Vanilla Extract - Tip of the Day
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Vanilla's an essential part of so many desserts. But when should you use vanilla beans vs. vanilla extract?
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Filed under: Tip of the Day
Homemade Vanilla Extract - Tip of the Day
Learn how to make your own vanilla extract -- it's as simple as set, shake and let sit.
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Filed under: Tip of the Day, How To, Features
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Spice ID Quiz
Know your fennel from fenugreek? Coriander from cardamom? It's the spiciest quiz ever from Slashfood.
Spice ID Quiz
Both leaves and seeds of this plant are employed as seasoning in Indian food, and the seeds are used to flavor artificial maple syrup.
- Sarsaparilla
- Nigella
- Fenugreek
- Carom
It just wouldn't be real rye bread without...
- Caraway
- Fennel Seed
- Poppy
- Cumin
The signature herb overtone of gin is...
- Galangal
- Fennel
- Pimento
- Juniper Berries
The leaves of this plant are snipped and used as the herb cilantro, but the seeds are a seasoning known as...
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Cardamom
- Curry
This spice is the inside part of the Myristica tree seed -- not to mention darned tasty in baked goods and sprinkled on winter beverages.
- Mace
- Cumin
- Nutmeg
- Ground Allspice
This wee, nutty spice is smashing on a roll or paired with a tart lemon pastry
- Allspice
- Poppy Seeds
- Cardamom
- Mustard Seed
These long, cured pods, often used to flavor desserts, are members of the orchid family.
- Vanilla Beans
- Cardamom
- Saffron
- Galangal
This strikingly-shaped fruit is a core element in Chinese five-spice.
- Sumac
- Galangal
- Telicherry
- Star Anise
This spice, made by grinding dried berries, adds a lemony taste to juice and Middle Eastern cuisine.
- Mahlab
- Fenugreek
- Rue
- Sumac
This Indian spice is valued as much for its vibrant hue as it is for its flavoring properties.
- Turmeric
- Ras al Hanout
- Ginger
- Asafoetida
This spice is often cited as the most expensive on the market, due to the difficulty of harvesting it.
- Grains of Paradise
- Sassafras
- Mahlab
- Saffron
These dried berries are, monetarily speaking, the most traded spice on the planet.
- Mustard
- Cardamom
- Black Pepper
- Cumin
Remember the previously mentioned Myristica tree seed? This is the outside seed casing, all ground up.
- Mace
- Galangal
- Ginger
- Camphor
We're awfully sorry that we can't present this quiz in Smell-O-Vision, but still we must ask -- can you identify this common ground-bark spice by sight alone?
- Mace
- Nutmeg
- Cinnamon
- Allspice
The green version of this pod is an essential flavor component in Chai tea.
- Ginger
- Cardamom
- Tonka Bean
- Cumin
From left to right, these are...
- Cumin, Anise
- Celery Seed, Dill
- Fennel, Cumin
- Dill, Anise
This Thai cuisine staple is also purported to possess aphrodisiac qualities.
- Ginger
- Galangal
- Horseradish
- Asafoetida
This pungent, earthy seed is valued for both culinary and medicinal use.
- Black Cumin
- Fennel
- Black Cardamom
- Grains of Selim
Chewing this spice is said to improve and sweeten the breath.
- Dill
- Anise
- Fennel
- Celery Seed
Dried peppers are ground to make this spice, which is widely used in Hungarian and Spanish cuisine.
- Telicherry
- Wasabi
- Ras al Hanout
- Paprika
Filed under: Quizzes, Ingredients
Simple scones of the vanilla bean variety
My love affair with scones started early, when my family and I would head to Central Park in the summers to go see Shakespeare. Year after year, the little refreshment stand outside the Delacorte Theater would house a pile of delicious scones (with currants, I think) that my mother would wipe out every visit, for us to eat over the upcoming weeks.
Over the years, I never found a recipe that came close to those perfect Scottish treats, but I think I might have found one that could be darned close, with a little tweaking. The other night I made vanilla bean scones -- and I wasn't even looking for the perfect scone recipe, but rather to use up a vanilla bean so that I could make extract. Double plus!
These scones are incredibly simple and easy to make (I used a dough cutter to mix it all, rather than fingers and a knife), and they're perfect for the people who like a plain treat. But these are also scones just asking for a little flair -- some sort of fruit or extra flavor to make the scone pop. (This is why the recipe is teamed with a DIY jam, but that's only one possible option.) Add your preferred flavor and shape as you please -- you can make them round, like the recipe asks, or roll out a circle and cut with a pie cutter to create triangles, as you can see above. Then they're just nestled into a pan, and quickly baked.
If you have a recipe that you prefer, please share it below!
Filed under: Methods
Pears poached in a saffron and vanilla bean syrup
Over the weekend Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving. Living in Toronto, I wasn't about to ignore the opportunity to whip up my beloved turkey feast, but there was one thing I didn't want -- a heavy dessert. Pies and crisps of the pumpkin and apple varieties are the perfect smell-match for the day, but after heaps of turkey, stuffing, and mass eating, sometimes it's better to have a light dessert that doesn't make you groan in further foodie pain.
Even without a turkey, the recipe for Poached Pears in a Saffron Vanilla Bean Syrup over at Figs with Bri is to die for. It's super tasty, and if you choose to match it with tasty vanilla ice cream, as I did above -- the syrup is a sinful match with the cold ice cream.
Filed under: Ingredients
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